back from the bottomless abyss
vinci what is your email address again?
okkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk hello. i promised my sloth that i'd post something so here i am :)
Elly, i think you are the only person who still reads this, but anything for you my paramour <3<3<3
i seem to remember a somewhat responsible peipei before my adventures
i have always been a 'dreamer' but when it came down to actions, i would say i have always been relatively sensible.
something is changing and my romanticism is beginning to overpower practicality
how much do i really want to come "home?"
Today, i went on the much anticipated SS Yongala deep dive & wreck dive. australia's best dive, ranked above the great barrier reef [which by the way is completely overrated. it's been devastated by tourism and it is just not that great anymore.]
the Yongala = a ship wreck that sank in 1911.
during the deepest part of my dive i was 30 meters under water
OH MY GOD there are: no. words.
in any case, i'm in love with scuba diving, ship wrecks are my new passion. night dives come in at a distant second
a synopsis of the things i saw just today:
*giant sea turtle -i got to pet it
*sea snakes - more graceful & less scary under water
*nemo swimming through annemonea (Sp?)
*LOTS OF DIFFERENT FISH that i can't name... lots lots lots lots all different shapes colors sizes
*HUUUUUUUUUUGE fish - i'm talking 1 - 2 meters
*harmless jelly fish
*a box jelly fish - deadly
*vibrant coral
*i dont' know just lots of stuff
the view looking up from the bottom of the massive ship was breathtaking --literally
on other dives i've seen:
giant clams
sting rays
big lobsters
big crabs
more sea turtles (i've been very lucky in terms of turtles)
sea wormy things that are grotesque but beautiful at the same time
a sea slug - that was just weird
sea stars the size of my torso
hmmm i can't think of what else right now
most important rule of scuba: NEVER STOP BREATHING! my scuba instructor says i'm a natural in the ocean, but he can't figure out why i'm so bad at controlling myself in the swimming pool x_x apparently it's the opposite for most people, since i don't plan on diving in any freshwater lakes anytime soon, it's ok.
the only major problem i have is navigation. surprise surprise -_- i have no sense of direction in or out of the water. it took me twice as long to pass this portion of my test. i had to have 3 tries before i could navigate a square using an underwater compass and i'm bad with underwater landmarks.
in any case I am an advanced certified diver now :D YEAY! one level up from just certified :D woot woot!
Things i can cross of my list of things to do:
sky diving - people ARE meant to fly
riding a mechanical bull (now i just have to ride a real one XD texas?)
scuba dive
snorkel the great barrier reef
ok. so a tentative itinerary:
*leave Magnetic Island for Cairns monday
*spend 2 or 3 days up north in Cape Tribulation/ Port Douglass
*fly to Alice springs -> 3 days for my Uluru tour
*Fly to perth - > 5 days visiting western oz
*fly to melbourned -> 2 days soaking up what little culture australia has
*back to sydney for 2 days
*Feb 03 fly into Shanghai
*spend some time in Shanhai/ xian
*do the tiger leaping gorge hike in Kunming
*spend about 5 days in Tibet
*train into beijing
*start school Feb 26 at Peking University where i will die under the intense pressure of the asian schooling system
*study & day trips to tourist sites like the great wall & the forbidden city
*school ends in early/ mid june
*roommate is coming to visit me in china
*go to india if Dave is able to figure out all his stuff
*go to taiwan if dave fails me
*HOME before the start of the Fall semester soooo around late july/ early august
I thought i would get lonely traveling by myself, and I do occasionally but that usually lasts only about 1 hour. i looove it. traveling by yourself is strangely liberating and it forces me to get over my anti social tendencies. independence and flexibility are wonderful.
i've meet a lot of awesome people. connections are key. places to stay in england, brazil, germany, italy, austria... it is bery good.
i have realized, during my time here and reflecing on past expereiecnes, i don't like doing the tourism thing, but i throughly enjoy traveling? One semester is barely enough time to see australia. for serious. i mean it is. but. it isn't? it's enough time to get the gist... but it's only barely enough time to really start to understand and pick up on lifestyle, culture and lack of it , attitudes, etc etc etc etc blah blah maybe i'm just slow. hahaha i dont' know.
i thought i could get away from the states, and work out all my demons. figure out all the things i wanted to do with my life. "who i am" and all that fluff.
for a long time, i thought that maybe i could just get into the corporate world, make a big salary and be decently happy. no.
really. i am just as confused as before, but now it's in a good way. i think. maybe. kind of.
hahahahaha
yeah. kind of.
i dont' really feel like i'm floating in shallow waters anymore. it's more like i'm in the middle of the ocean.i'm still floating, but it's controlled - i am neutrally buoyant and it's active kind of floating -some more scuba talk.
i dont' know. i think i have a real passion for traveling - and yeah everyone wants to travel. everyone want's to seeeeeeeeeeeee the woooooooooorld. but... i think i could really do the 3 years here, 3 years there thing. three years seems like a good number. year one - get touristy things out of the way; year 2 - settle in and get comfortable; year 3 - wrap it up and get ready for a move
maybe working with an INGO - i don't know. but, i want to DO something. i guess traveling has helped me figure out that much. i want to DOOO something. something that helps someone or some aspect of the world and life or something. i dont know whati i'm really talking about but. yes. i want to do something and help someone.
i'm looking back into social work... maybe i'm just fated to be poor all my life XD
anyways, things are better these days. much better. demons are starting to turn into shadows and ghosts. confusion is not such a bad thing anymore.
i still adore all the people i left behind, and no one has really made their way into my heart - hahaha not that they have time to. we say 'goodbye' as quickly as we say 'hello'
so to all the nicknamed sillies i left at in the states - i miss you much.
okkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk hello. i promised my sloth that i'd post something so here i am :)
Elly, i think you are the only person who still reads this, but anything for you my paramour <3<3<3
i seem to remember a somewhat responsible peipei before my adventures
i have always been a 'dreamer' but when it came down to actions, i would say i have always been relatively sensible.
something is changing and my romanticism is beginning to overpower practicality
how much do i really want to come "home?"
Today, i went on the much anticipated SS Yongala deep dive & wreck dive. australia's best dive, ranked above the great barrier reef [which by the way is completely overrated. it's been devastated by tourism and it is just not that great anymore.]
the Yongala = a ship wreck that sank in 1911.
during the deepest part of my dive i was 30 meters under water
OH MY GOD there are: no. words.
in any case, i'm in love with scuba diving, ship wrecks are my new passion. night dives come in at a distant second
a synopsis of the things i saw just today:
*giant sea turtle -i got to pet it
*sea snakes - more graceful & less scary under water
*nemo swimming through annemonea (Sp?)
*LOTS OF DIFFERENT FISH that i can't name... lots lots lots lots all different shapes colors sizes
*HUUUUUUUUUUGE fish - i'm talking 1 - 2 meters
*harmless jelly fish
*a box jelly fish - deadly
*vibrant coral
*i dont' know just lots of stuff
the view looking up from the bottom of the massive ship was breathtaking --literally
on other dives i've seen:
giant clams
sting rays
big lobsters
big crabs
more sea turtles (i've been very lucky in terms of turtles)
sea wormy things that are grotesque but beautiful at the same time
a sea slug - that was just weird
sea stars the size of my torso
hmmm i can't think of what else right now
most important rule of scuba: NEVER STOP BREATHING! my scuba instructor says i'm a natural in the ocean, but he can't figure out why i'm so bad at controlling myself in the swimming pool x_x apparently it's the opposite for most people, since i don't plan on diving in any freshwater lakes anytime soon, it's ok.
the only major problem i have is navigation. surprise surprise -_- i have no sense of direction in or out of the water. it took me twice as long to pass this portion of my test. i had to have 3 tries before i could navigate a square using an underwater compass and i'm bad with underwater landmarks.
in any case I am an advanced certified diver now :D YEAY! one level up from just certified :D woot woot!
Things i can cross of my list of things to do:
sky diving - people ARE meant to fly
riding a mechanical bull (now i just have to ride a real one XD texas?)
scuba dive
snorkel the great barrier reef
ok. so a tentative itinerary:
*leave Magnetic Island for Cairns monday
*spend 2 or 3 days up north in Cape Tribulation/ Port Douglass
*fly to Alice springs -> 3 days for my Uluru tour
*Fly to perth - > 5 days visiting western oz
*fly to melbourned -> 2 days soaking up what little culture australia has
*back to sydney for 2 days
*Feb 03 fly into Shanghai
*spend some time in Shanhai/ xian
*do the tiger leaping gorge hike in Kunming
*spend about 5 days in Tibet
*train into beijing
*start school Feb 26 at Peking University where i will die under the intense pressure of the asian schooling system
*study & day trips to tourist sites like the great wall & the forbidden city
*school ends in early/ mid june
*roommate is coming to visit me in china
*go to india if Dave is able to figure out all his stuff
*go to taiwan if dave fails me
*HOME before the start of the Fall semester soooo around late july/ early august
I thought i would get lonely traveling by myself, and I do occasionally but that usually lasts only about 1 hour. i looove it. traveling by yourself is strangely liberating and it forces me to get over my anti social tendencies. independence and flexibility are wonderful.
i've meet a lot of awesome people. connections are key. places to stay in england, brazil, germany, italy, austria... it is bery good.
i have realized, during my time here and reflecing on past expereiecnes, i don't like doing the tourism thing, but i throughly enjoy traveling? One semester is barely enough time to see australia. for serious. i mean it is. but. it isn't? it's enough time to get the gist... but it's only barely enough time to really start to understand and pick up on lifestyle, culture and lack of it , attitudes, etc etc etc etc blah blah maybe i'm just slow. hahaha i dont' know.
i thought i could get away from the states, and work out all my demons. figure out all the things i wanted to do with my life. "who i am" and all that fluff.
for a long time, i thought that maybe i could just get into the corporate world, make a big salary and be decently happy. no.
really. i am just as confused as before, but now it's in a good way. i think. maybe. kind of.
hahahahaha
yeah. kind of.
i dont' really feel like i'm floating in shallow waters anymore. it's more like i'm in the middle of the ocean.i'm still floating, but it's controlled - i am neutrally buoyant and it's active kind of floating -some more scuba talk.
i dont' know. i think i have a real passion for traveling - and yeah everyone wants to travel. everyone want's to seeeeeeeeeeeee the woooooooooorld. but... i think i could really do the 3 years here, 3 years there thing. three years seems like a good number. year one - get touristy things out of the way; year 2 - settle in and get comfortable; year 3 - wrap it up and get ready for a move
maybe working with an INGO - i don't know. but, i want to DO something. i guess traveling has helped me figure out that much. i want to DOOO something. something that helps someone or some aspect of the world and life or something. i dont know whati i'm really talking about but. yes. i want to do something and help someone.
i'm looking back into social work... maybe i'm just fated to be poor all my life XD
anyways, things are better these days. much better. demons are starting to turn into shadows and ghosts. confusion is not such a bad thing anymore.
i still adore all the people i left behind, and no one has really made their way into my heart - hahaha not that they have time to. we say 'goodbye' as quickly as we say 'hello'
so to all the nicknamed sillies i left at in the states - i miss you much.